Queen
by xana4
Summary: "Maybe in ten years I'll come back and we'll be different people. Maybe I'll come back ready for the white picket fence, the two kids and the dog. Maybe you'll be into buying furniture and cooking. But, for now, this is who are. This is who I am." Callen/OC Kensi/Deeks
1. Radio Ga Ga

**November, 2002**

She grabs the kitchen knife and walks to him, a somewhat creepy smile on her face.

It's way past midnight and, if he's honest with himself, he shouldn't allow this to happen. It's a vicious circle and he's only perpetuating it.

Still, does it really matter at this point?

Her long blond hair makes her look like sweet, something she's not. At least not when she's with him.

Callen often wonders if he's the one who brings out this side of her but deep down he knows he couldn't bring that much craziness out of anyone.

She walks to him with slow steady steps, biting her bottom lip, the knife still in her hand.

It's that devilish smile that does things to him.

Or maybe it's the way her green eyes shine, brighter than any light.

Or maybe it's because they're all alone, in a dark room, and he can still see her as if every light was on.

There's something about this woman that drives him to the point of no return.

She breaks the silence, a few steps away from the chair he's sitting on.

"You said I could do it…"

Callen doesn't even blink. "I'm not stopping you."

He never does, to be honest. He never stops her, which is probably half the problem.

Her white simple t-shirt clings to her body, still wet from the rain outside, and he can see the wound on her belly.

It's bad enough to probably need stiches but not urgent enough to make him stop her from doing this, from having her fun after a long day.

The blood stopped coming a few minutes ago so he bets they can kill some time before a trip to the emergency room.

Her black pants are stained by blood. Some of it is hers, some of it isn't. And that's okay too, somehow.

"G Callen, the man that fears nothing…how's that like?"

He wants to laugh because that sentence sounds crazy when coming from her. Fearless is her middle name.

Sure, he doesn't show fear but he certainly feels it. She doesn't feel it. It's that simple.

Callen simply shrugs and lets her sit on his lap, straddling him. It's nothing new.

She's making that knife dance in her hand, with tantalizing movements that almost hypnotize him.

"You're my partner." It isn't a question and, coming from her, it's a rather unusual sentence.

A few years ago, she'd sang a different song. She'd told him she didn't do partners, with so much ease it made him shiver. For her, at that point, that was as true as saying the Earth was round.

Now, he's her partner. Callen is still not sure how that happened. Probably because of Hetty's stubbornness. Probably because he never liked partners but he liked her.

She keeps talking, snapping him out of his state. "You're supposed to have my back."

And damn, if that sentence doesn't hurt more than that knife would. He knows he's supposed to have her back. He also knows he failed today.

Truth to be told, it's not the first time he failed her.

There are many things he wants to tell her.

Callen wants to say he's sorry.

He wants to tell her that having a partner who is as unpredictable as careless is not easy to manage.

He wants to take away the pain he's sure she's feeling, even though she'd never admit such a human thing.

Pain…another word she doesn't know the meaning of.

Still, his answer doesn't completely reflect his thoughts. "I told you to do the same thing to me. Go ahead!"

There's no hint of hesitation in his eyes because there's no doubt about this in his mind.

Callen told her she could mimic her wound on him and the knife in her hand is as real as the one the bad guy cut her with.

She pouts. "It's no fun when you show no fear…"

Callen lets out a small laugh. "I thought the fun part was making me bleed."

She sighs. "Sure, that would be fun. But, really, without emotion it's boring."

He shakes his head. "Are you doing this or can we go to the hospital to get that wound looked at?"

She gets up from his lap and crosses her arms in front of her chest, almost like a little kid. "You're no fun!"

Callen gets up from the chair and takes the knife from her hands. "You had your chance to play. Now it's my turn."

"Your definition of playing is taking me to the hospital?"

He shrugs. "As I said, you had your chance."

"That wasn't even a real chance! You weren't scared! What's the point of threatening you with a knife if you don't even flinch?"

He puts the knife down and puts his hands on her waist. "You were never going to cut me with that knife."

She smirks. "You look very confident for a man who's had more bruises because of me than because of bad guys…"

Callen kisses her forehead and feels her softening instantly in his arms. "You don't like to see me bleed. You were never going to do it."

She sighs and pulls away from him. "Let's go to the hospital, then. I'm tired and need to sleep."

And, they walk to the car together without another word.

 **March, 2003**

"Why are you doing this?" His question feels weak, but he's not feeling very strong at the moment.

"I need more than this, Callen. I need the thrill."

He shakes his head, still not fully believing this is happening. "That's bullshit and you know it. You're running away!"

She doesn't even try to deny it. "What if I am? I'm well within my right to do so!"

He's angry, now. "Everyone gets hurt, sometime. That doesn't mean you can just pack your damn bags and embark on a suicide mission across the world!"

She sighs, not responding to his anger. "It's not a suicide mission."

"No, it's a five year assignment that can extend up to ten. In a freaking war zone. Easy. Walk in the park."

She crosses her arms. "Callen, I'm not asking your opinion. I'm telling you I'm leaving in a few days. That's it. That's all there is to it."

Callen knows he's just her partner. He has no right to ask anything from her. Still, he doesn't like changes and she's forcing him into a pretty big one.

He's going to need a new partner because there's no way they'll let him work alone.

He's going to need a new house because there will be memories of her everywhere.

He's going to need new clothes because her sweet scent will be all over his clothes.

It's just not something he wants to deal with. But, as it seems, he has no choice.

It doesn't mean he's going down without a fight, though.

"Your brother went crazy and decided to leave, for everyone's sake. That doesn't mean you have to do the same. You have more family. You have friends."

He stops, even though he has one more thing to say. However, she says it for him. "I have you."

Callen is silent but she takes two steps forward and continues. "Isn't that what you were going to say?"

He sighs. "I don't even know what to say, if you want the truth. But yes, you do have me. You'll always have me."

She takes his hand in a sweet gesture, something she's not very good at. "Callen, we're not this. We don't do _this_. We don't do relationships. What do you want from me?"

He knows she's right. It's not in their nature. Still, he can't bring himself to talk so she continues. "I really do like you but that's it. We've had fun. We've been good partners, good friends and great lovers. But I need this now. Who knows…maybe in ten years I'll come back and we'll be different people. Maybe I'll come back ready for the white picket fence, the two kids and the dog. Maybe you'll be into buying furniture and cooking. But, for now, this is what we are. This is what I am."

Callen nods and, with one final peck on the lips, she turns around and walks out of his house.

And, for some reason, he has the feeling he hasn't seen the last of Elizabeth Rollins.

 **AN: Hello dear faithful readers and new ones! This is my new story. As you can tell, it will be mostly about Callen but there will be plenty of Kensi, Deeks and the team in future chapters so keep reading to find out what's coming. Let me know what you think about this start and I'll update as soon as possible**


	2. Don't Stop Me Now

**Present Time**

It's a sunny day in Los Angeles, as per usual. G Callen doesn't think he'll ever get fully used to this much sun.

Driving to work, while sipping his coffee, he thinks about what will happen today at work. Somehow, he's excited to enter the building.

They had a team bonding night the night before and Kensi got drunk. Drunk enough to kiss Deeks in the middle of the dance floor.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise. They all knew about the mutual attraction between the partners.

Still, seeing her actually doing something about it was fun.

However, he's curious to see if that'd been just a drunken move or if they actually did something about their thing.

He parks the car and walks to the office. And he's not disappointed when he goes in.

"I just won a bet, of course I'm happy!" He can hear Sam's voice, and rolls his eyes. That was an unfair bet to begin with but he still needs to give 20 dollars to his partner, it seems.

Kensi's a bit shocked. "You and Callen actually made bets about us?"

Callen walks to his desk and sees Sam shrug. "To be honest, we both knew you and Deeks would eventually end up together. I said it was going to happen before Thanksgiving. Callen thought you would wait until Christmas."

The female agent shrugs and sits on her chair. "Well, now you know. Deeks and I have been dating for a few weeks now. Don't make a big deal out of it."

Callen is actually surprised with this information. "How did you two managed to hide a relationship from the entire team?"

Hetty chooses that moment to walk in and cuts him off. "Nothing unfamiliar to you, Mr. Callen, as I recall. Regardless, you're all need upstairs. Mr. Deeks has gone undercover last night and Eric will bring you up to speed about it."

Without another word, they all walk upstairs. Somehow, no one questions Callen about Hetty's comment but he has the feeling Sam is not going to let this one slide without asking questions.

 **With Deeks**

"You're new!"

Deeks turns around, assuming that's directed towards him.

The woman standing in front of him has a suspicious look on her face, almost as if she doubts his intentions.

"I got hired last night but I met with the boss weeks ago. I assume he's done his research about me during this past few weeks before bringing me in."

She looks at him for a few more seconds, clearly trying to read him. He doesn't let his guard down. It's not his first time doing this.

Still, it's quite obvious it's not her first time either. "You have an impressive work sheet, that's for sure."

He shrugs. "So why are you looking at me like that?"

For the first time since he's seen her, the woman cracks a small smile. "You're good. I like you."

Deeks nods, a small grin on his face. "I'm Matt."

The woman shakes his hand, letting him see what seems to be a tattoo on her right wrist. He can't see much because of her long sleeves but there was definitely some ink in there. "Anna."

"So, what's your job here?"

Anna starts walking with him to the place where they're supposed to meet the boss. "I collect debts."

Deeks almost laughs. She's short and small, not someone who intimidates other people to pay up their debts. "Do you work alone?"

Anna stops dead in her tracks and stares at him. If looks could kill he'd be dead and buried by now. "I know what you're thinking. How can someone so tiny be a debt collector for a mob boss? How can she intimidate anyone? How can she get the job done? She must have help. There's no way she can do that alone."

With every words she says, it seems her eyes are even more set aflame. "Let me tell you something, Matt, I'm perfectly capable of doing my job. In fact, I'm the best debt collector the boss has working for him."

She takes another step forward and jabs her finger in her chest, her shoulder-length black hair moving with the wind that blows behind them, making her look even crazier. "If you want a piece of advice, don't get on my bad side. I've gotten guys much bigger than you on their knees, begging for mercy. Think about that the next time you decide to judge me based on my size. Are we clear, Matt?"

Deeks gulps and nods, not sure if it's okay for him to speak after such a display.

She straightens her black shirt and starts walking to the door of the building once again.

Deeks follows her, absolutely sure this is going to be one of those hard assignments. After all, she's the first person he's met other than the boss and she seems tough. How is he going to be able to fly under the radar for long enough to get evidence to put all these guys behind bars?

 **With the team**

As Eric opens the file containing the information about the operation Deeks is working on, Callen just stares ate one single picture, on the bottom of the screen.

It was taken a few weeks ago and it seems to contain many members of the organization.

There are at least 8 men in there, all much more muscular than Deeks.

There is one particular man that stands out. Eric says he's the boss. The guy is tall, with big muscles and scars on his face and arms. It's not the usual boss, who tells everyone to do his dirty job for him. They can tell this guy does his part too.

However, that's not why Callen stares at the picture.

He stares at the picture because of the only woman in there. A woman he hasn't seen for a very long time.

She's different but he would recognize that face anywhere. It's definitely Elizabeth.

" _Who knows…maybe in ten years I'll come back and we'll be different people. Maybe I'll come back ready for the white picket fence, the two kids and the dog. Maybe you'll be into buying furniture and cooking. But, for now, this is what we are. This is what I am."_

And here she is now, 13 years later. Working undercover. Great, that's exactly the kind of trouble he needed right now.


End file.
